Michael Yon's latest - on British Media Ops 25/09/09

[Finnpog]

He tells it like it is for him.

I wouldn't like to be the REMF major, openly taking the piss out of proper soldiers and bullying to get ahead...

Bull**** Bob (http://www.michaelyon-online.com/bull****-bob.htm)

[Double Zero]

As an aerial photographer & writer myself, if there is any justice in this world Mr.Yon deserves the highest awards going...

[airborne_artist]

To date I've been a fan of Yon, but this blog piece left a sour taste. It's not journalism at all, it's a rant, with diversions about going to the Netherlands, the ending of the embed etc, and it suggests he's allowed his ego to get bigger than the story.

A good journo leaves all that for the autobiography much later, and in the meantime gets on with putting together accurate and timely stories that give insight to the reader, something at which he normally excels.

[VinRouge]

Ee by gum, its B*ll**** Bob!

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01418/bob-ainsworth_1418186i.jpg

[Spam_UK]

I have to agree with AA on this one. Whilst normally I really enjoy his work, there didn't seem to be any substance in this report, and as AA said, it seemed more like a rant at the way he was treated.

As far as the major goes, unfortunately there's always some REMF to ruin your day! You just have to ignore them and get on with it as best you can!

Look forward to his next report, hopefully will return to his normal v.good standard!!

[Saintsman]

That sort of report will win him no friends with the powers that be and may well hinder his chances of being embedded in the future.

Arseholes some of them may be, but he should know by now that you have to work with them whilst biting your lip if you want to get anything done.

[L J R]

Careful Mr Yon, despite the problematic approach by the rude Major, sometimes you just have to do what you are told.

Please stick to your reports of the fighting and leave the infighting to the pros.

BTW, I do like all of your other work.

[The Helpful Stacker]

Although I agree with the view that perhaps his ego has got the better of him this time does the suggestion by 'Saintsman' mean that he should be expected to tow the party line to keep media ops happy? Should the integrity of his reporting suffer so that he can keep the powers that be (inc. Lt Col 'Twaddle' Richardson) happy and on course for a good pension or should he tell the truth? We hear enough bullsh!t from our politicians and their b!tches in MoD Media Ops, reports for the likes of Michael Yon are the only chance Joe Public gets to understand the realities of a war they'll never see and develop a small drop of empathy for the British service personnel who face a constant battle against enemies both in Afghanistan and Westminster.

[Ali Barber]

Do we learn nothing? Our handling of the media during the Falklands was dreadful - and acknowledged. At Staff College, we were taught how to work with the media and ran (CPX) exercises where real media personnel came and conducted interviews on our conduct of the exercise - it benefited us and them to understand each other and talk through the hypothetical situations afterwards. We saw the benefit of working with them and, if you did not bullsh1t them, they would also realise that there were wider interests than sales volume. Michael Yon is one of the most respected journalists I have heard of and everything he reports shows our guys to be excellent soldiers. If he says we don't have enough helicopters, he is not revealing a state secret - everyone is saying that. I understand the frustration evident in this outburst from Michael Yon and would suggest that the "British Major" be first in line for consideration of any redundancies - or just plain fired!

[Finnpog]

Just because it is a touch unpalatable to read does not mean that it is still not good journalism.

As we have swallowed his previous blogs, surely that gives a degree of provenance to this one.

[highcirrus]

Readers might like to view Richard North's take on the spat, here at Defence of the Realm (http://defenceoftherealm.com/) website, under the heading of "The naming of names".

The theme:

Michael Yon is back with an excoriating condemnation of the MoD publicity machine in Helmand, lifting the lid on a little-discussed but vitally important aspect of the conduct of the war there.

[Anotherpost75]

Hmmm. I can see why Michael Yon has become so agitated. I particularly like the part in the above Defence of the Realm link which says:

That a military officer (REMF major) would share a foul word about a combat soldier who was prepping for battle was offensive. Especially an officer who lives in an air-conditioned tent with a refrigerator stocked with chilled soft drinks. Just outside his tent are nice hot and cold showers. Five minutes away is a little Pizza Hut trailer, a coffee shop, stores, and a cookhouse.

This very Major had earned a foul reputation among his own kind for spending too much time on his Facebook page. I personally saw him being gratuitously rude to correspondents. Some correspondents - all were British - complained to me that when they wanted to interview senior British officers, they were told by this Major to submit written questions. The Major said they would receive videotaped answers that they could edit as if they were talking with the interviewee.

[anita gofradump]

I'm more than a little surprised by some of the responses on here.

The bloke was poorly treated and lied to, at the highest level, having been the provider of much lauded, highly accurate reports from Iraq and Afghanistan. The facts are clear for all to see. I think that the man is entitled to a 'rant' as some chose to put it. If you don't like it, don't read it. As has already been pointed out, the British military has been rubbish in it's ability to deal with the media and continues to be so.

Knob Ainsworth has been telling lies for years and I look forward to seeing the back of him.

AA, Are you the Major in disguise?

[Anotherpost75]

anita - agreed.

More from the same link. I think Michael Yon is doing us all a huge favour by revealing what is going on with Media Ops in Afghanistan.

But if xxx is the "roach" leg, the king roach is the boss of Media Ops in Afghanistan, Lt-Col. yyy. Says Yon, yyy is doing more damage to the war effort than the Taliban media machine. By perpetrating falsehoods that undermine our combat capacity, yyy has helped the enemy. He thus writes:

Some of the smokescreens are less important but they are demonstrative of the pattern: On 20 August a, CH-47 helicopter was shot down by a Taleban RPG during a British Special Forces mission. yyy reported that the aircraft landed due to an engine fire. Some hours later, while I was on a mission nearby, the Taleban were singing over the radios about shooting it down. I heard the rumble when the helicopter was destroyed by airstrikes. The Taleban knew they hit the helicopter. So who is yyy lying to? Not the enemy … unless the enemy is the British public.


and further:

Quite how serious this is Yon himself points out. The British people are demanding truth and they deserve accountability. They aren't getting it from Camp Bastion, he writes. Given the importance of the home front, it is impossible to stress how important it is that we are able to judge what is going on out in Helmand. For a long time, we have known that we are not being told the full story – or even part of it. For its contribution to that failure, "Media Ops" – with Major xxx and Lt-Col yyy in particular - is losing us the war.

[VinRouge]

Anyone still see the political will to remain in Afghanistan much past the next change of government?

I dont.:hmm:

[airborne_artist]

Anita - I'm not defending the Major one bit, and there's an article in there that Yon doesn't really finish about the spin/lies that he alleges from Media Ops.

My complaint about Yon's blog was that it was pretty self-centred. He's not the story, but he seems to be in danger of thinking he should be. That's not good journalism.

I'm not entirely happy with the outing of the Major, either. Seems to be at the least a Persec issue, and he's not been offered the right of reply, either, which is where citizen journalism a la Yon is very different to the kind of thing you'd see from someone writing for a UK broadsheet. It seems that the Major may be ex-regular RM, now in the TA, which is far from being a REMF, too.

[The Equivocator]

Anotherpost75,

You state that he is doing us all a big favour. Rubbish...

He may well be doing a massive disservice to the boys and girls on the ground. Ac getting shot-down, Taliban radio traffic etc etc etc. There's a reason that some (note SOME, not all) things aren't talked about and it's called OPSEC. If you'd been anywhere near the military you'd understand it. Just because you'd like and want to know, doesn't mean you need to.

Until this time, I thought Yon was effective and hard-hitting. This latest piece is a self-centered rant, simple. He may not like the blokes in media ops, but they are doing a tricky job to the best of their abilities. Outing them with no right to reply is pretty low. Grow up Mr Yon.

[VinRouge]

but they are doing a tricky job to the best of their abilities#

Thats the problem. They have been turned into noo labour spin machines, which doesnt exactly do the population service when its the nations boys and girls laying down their lives for the labour spin machine.

Quite frankly, I find that far more disgusting.

[Anotherpost75]

Equivocator You seem to be entirely missing the point which Michael Yon makes. How is OPSEC breached if the Taliban already know that they have successfully downed a Chinook and Yon is merely telling our side the truth of the matter?

Is it a satisfactory state of affairs that everyone (military/civilian taxpayers) should be treated as mushrooms (in my fairly lengthy military service it used to mean "kept in the dark and fed on horse-****" - have things changed?).

I note with interest that the American approach to Media Ops is not to rely on obfuscation and mendacity under the cover of OPSEC. I further understand that no American breach of security through media brief has ever benefited the Taliban.

[Two's in]

Equivocator You seem to be entirely missing the point which Michael Yon makes. How is OPSEC breached if the Taliban already know that they have successfully downed a Chinook and Yon is merely telling our side the truth of the matter?

The balance to be struck is between providing truthful and accurate reports but at the same time not aiding the enemy by the nature of those reports. How could they be aiding the enemy? Quite simple really, if you understand the value of Battle Damage Assessment (BDA). suddenly the bad guys are getting confirmation of weapons effects and ranges, things they might have suspected before, but here we are confirming it in the name of good journalism. I don't belive Michael Yon is guilty of this here, but others have.

Not everything is a Government conspiracy to keep the public in the dark, but there are aspects to reporting warfighting that are best kept vague at the very least.

[cornish-stormrider]

SO let us use this argument in particular.....
Terry T gets lucky and downs a chinook,
Terry T sees his shot and goes on radio "laa laa laa I shot down your helicopter etc"
At this point the truth is out there,
brit mil know truth and are told to lie to:
a) Misinform Terry who saw it downed,
b) Misinform other mil personnel who are aware of how vulnerable they are and the dangers they face,
c) Misinform Joe Public and then let them talk about Jordan or Big Bother instead

Place your bets please. Oh and as to the rest of the "rant" that has been purported. I woud rather have Mr Yon and a warts and all than any speech from "Bull**** Bob". Further more, if you were in his position and the choice was toe the line or speak the truth what would you do?

[anita gofradump]

You make a fair point AA.

I'm sure that the frustrating circumstance just got the better of Yon and we're reading the reaction. Maybe his next offering will clear up the issues he raises wrt the out-and-out lies that he was told by Media Ops staff, at various levels. And I hope he keeps doing what he has been doing, within the bounds of OpSec.

Let's also hope that the now infamous Major reads this thread, and adjusts his attitude accordingly - or has it adjusted for him.

[Anotherpost75]

Two's in You write:

The balance to be struck is between providing truthful and accurate reports but at the same time not aiding the enemy by the nature of those reports. How could they be aiding the enemy? Quite simple really, if you understand the value of Battle Damage Assessment (BDA). suddenly the bad guys are getting confirmation of weapons effects and ranges, things they might have suspected before, but here we are confirming it in the name of good journalism. I don't belive Michael Yon is guilty of this here, but others have.

I absolutely agree that reports should not aid the enemy by providing accurate BDA (the value of such assessment, I fully understand). However, in this case, as stated by Yon, the Taliban were able to make their own, on the spot BDA, confirming weapons effect and range (which, if they didn't know until then, such knowledge deficiency could easily have been rectified by viewing the movie Black Hawk Down). Hence, in this case, the Taliban had no need to suspect anything - the confirmation was in front of their eyes. Therefore, a double triumph for the enemy as they had downed a Chinook and later MOD obfuscation (spin) confirmed to them that not only was the UK Government at war with them but also seriously at loggerheads with its own populus as evidenced by an inability to tell them the truth of the matter. A bit of an own goal I think.

I had a trawl through the Defence of the Realm (http://defenceoftherealm.com/) website. Run back two or three pages (click Older Posts) and the article covering the event can be found with the title "Chinook shot down". Interesting to note that the article states:

The MoD, initially, quite deliberately did not rule out enemy action, and have now confirmed that the aircraft was brought down by a combination of "RPG and small-arms fire".

Has Michael Yon therefore been aiding the enemy by confirming what the Taliban already witnessed with their own eyes and which MoD later concurred? Perhaps also wiser heads further up the MoD chain realised the potential "own goal" and decided to come clean. Are we being best served by the Major and Lt Col. in country?

[Two's in]

AP75,

All valid points, but at the risk of diving too far down this rabbit hole, how do manage the release of this type of information effectively? Do you let the journo's make a detemination of whether critical military capability will be revealed by reporting the full story, do you ask the Taliban whether they already knew that particular Opsec characteristic, or is some overworked Int guy now required to make a security assessment solely for the purpose of allowing the story to be published by the general media?

Does public release justify a whole additional level of scrutiny and vetting for each correspondent's story, instead of the general release provided by the media pool? Maybe it does, but nobody should think that allowing journo's to publish the "truth" from an operational area doesn't carry an associated burden for the Military.

[anita gofradump]

Before you embarrass yourself too much rmac, you may want to look at this......

Helmand Bl0gspot (http://helmandblog.*************/2009/09/have-you-found-major-not-yet.html)

Journalist Michael Yon posted a report this morning - Bull**** Bob (http://www.michaelyon-online.com/bull****-bob.htm) - it makes for interesting reading - and I seem to have been confused as the unnamed major.

Since May last year I have been pretty busy working within Media Ops. I have served in Kosovo with 2 RIFLES and Iraq within MND(SE) and I am now a week away from a tour in Afghanistan, somewhere I have not been since 2006.

I am currently in the UK and am not the unnamed major Michael Yon refers to. With any luck I will have the chance to meet and work with Michael when he returns to Helmand.

Kind regards
Major Paul Smyth


Besides the fact that public outings leave the nasty taste in your mouth, I think you may have the wrong bloke.

As for the blatant self publicity while the boys are suffering well that is something that you can take up with Maj Smyth, now that you have an avenue for communication with him, that is, through the Helmand Blog.

All the best with that one.

[Ray Dahvectac]

The Media Ops guy in question has already been publicly outed, via a link further up this page.

It isn't Major Smyth.

[rmac]

OK humble pie eaten related ID of major, and note of Major named in other link made ! (so OK to post the link that names the name by the look of things).

What makes it worrying is that there are at least two if not more (many more !)of these "media ops" specialists propping up the propaganda effort of our morally bankrupt leadership.

These are the guys who are paying for it

I owe my life to MC hero Locky: Private's sad tribute to warrior who saved him from battlefield | Mail Online (http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/article-1216306/I-owe-life-MC-hero-Locky-Privates-sad-tribute-warrior-saved-battlefield.html)

Shame, shame , shame

[Anotherpost75]

Two's in Yup, agreed and not a great idea to go too far down the rabbit hole. However, Michael Yon has a track record of not compromising OPSEC and not assisting Taliban BDA. He also has a great bio and comes across to me as a brave and truthful battlefield reporter (in marked contrast to the desk-bound and wearisomely mendacious official spokespersons of the NuLabour junta).

I've just re-read Yon's dispatch in question (http://www.michaelyon-online.com/bull****-bob.htm) and note the following:

The surprise discontinuation of my embedment from the British Army left my schedule in a train wreck. Until that decisive moment, I am told, that my embed with the British Army had lasted longer than anyone else’s; other than Ross Kemp’s. I’ve also been told that I’ve spent more time with the British Army in Iraq than any correspondent. So it’s fair to say, we have good history together.......

........My latest embed with British 2 Rifles, which began in July, was extended on at least two occasions. The British Ministry of Defence (MoD) had recently agreed that I would spend roughly one more month with 2 Rifles. My scheduled embeds with the United States Air Force and Marines were specifically arranged around the British schedule, and I was enjoying reporting on the excellent British troops.

........I do not know the reason for the embed termination. My best guess is that it relates to my sustained criticism that the British government is not properly resourcing its soldiers.


Perhaps, reading between the lines, Yon has been shafted by Major xxx and Lt Col. yyy on orders from above, due what rmac describes as:

What makes it worrying is that there are at least two if not more (many more !) of these "media ops" specialists propping up the propaganda effort of our morally bankrupt leadership.

In this context, I maintain the view that Michael Yon is doing us all a great service in the face of concerted efforts to silence information and opinion that is embarrassing to the current British regime. Long may he continue to report.

[Jackonicko]

Some of you blokes need a lesson in recognising the real enemy.

The enemy is not the press, and especially not this particular journo.

I understand that suspicion of the press is endemic in the forces, and there are some good reasons for this, though anyone with any intelligence would recognise that the reality of the situation is very much more complicated. The Media contains friends and foes, and can be both helpful and harmful, and as such demands a more sophisticated approach.

So what sort of enemy is Mr Yon?

One who concludes that: “My relationship with the British military is not diminished and I would go into combat with their soldiers anytime. My respect for British soldiers is immense and undying.”

One whose dispatches have been extraordinary, highly professional, incredibly moving documents that really do highlight the magnificent work that the UK forces have been doing in Afghanistan.

Mr Yon is an opponent of Government parsimony, and supports proper funding for the forces.

“My best guess is that it relates to my sustained criticism that the British government is not properly resourcing its soldiers.”

Mr Yon wants the West to win, and he’s an admirer, generally, of the UK Forces, and even our media ops people.

”Many soldiers in the British Media Ops are true professionals who strive constantly to improve at their tasks and work very well with correspondents. Their professionalism and understanding of the larger mission—ultimate victory—provide an invaluable service to the war effort.”

But Mr Yon does not expect to have to submit written questions and to be supplied with pre-prepared ‘spin’ answers.

He criticizes MCOs who “want correspondents to submit written questions so they can provide tidy answers.”

Mr Yon believes that the public deserve to be told the truth, and that that is not happening. He believes that while we are spending billions and shedding the blood of the best of a generation, we should not be dealing in spin and lies.

He points out that:

”The British people are demanding truth and they deserve accountability. They aren’t getting it from Camp Bastion.”
“This war is moving fast and there is no time for games. If a general does not want to tell his story, someone will tell it for him. He will have failed by losing another winnable media battle.”

Mr Yon believes that when Media Ops people deny particular problems (eg the shortage of helicopters) it can actually undermine our combat capability, because it reduces the pressure on the politicians to give our boys the kit they need and deserve.

The proper and honourable answer to a shortage of body armour in Iraq was not to deny that any such shortage existed, but to quickly rectify such deficiencies. He says:

” Media Ops people—who do not leave their base or go on missions—who are spooling out “the message” to the media. They are clueless about the state of the war in Afghanistan. For instance, many of the Media Ops officers will insist that we have enough helicopters in Afghanistan. Those officers are either completely oblivious to the actuality of the situation or lying.
General Petraeus told me straight up that we don’t have enough and that we doubled our helicopters in the last four months and are in the process of fielding “two more fistfuls.” (He did not give specific numbers.) Those BS-filled officers who deny the obvious are, in fact, symptomatic to why we are losing the war.”

“By perpetrating falsehoods that undermine our combat capacity, XXXX (a named Media Ops Officer) has helped the enemy.”

He’s just as critical of politicians who put out such spin.

”Mr. Ainsworth is lying to the British public about the helicopter issue in Afghanistan. Mr. Ainsworth tells the British public that British soldiers have enough helicopters. British troops are suffering—even dying—for those lies. Mr. Ainsworth is, in effect, murdering British soldiers by not resourcing them.”

I have to say that, as a journo, I think that Mr Yon makes good points in a pretty level headed and calm fashion (apart from the last criticism of Ainsworth, which is pretty explosive). But if you’re in the armed forces (an aggressive organization with an enviable reputation for being robust and used to ‘harsh banter’) and you think this is a rant, then seriously, you need to get out more.

I sympathise with the view that Yon's blog is pretty self-centred, but that’s because it’s a blog, and that’s what blogs are all about. If it was a piece in the Telegraph complaining that “he's not the story, but he seems to be in danger of thinking he should be” would be spot on. That's not good print journalism – but it’s what columnists and bloggers do.

And he highlights a real problem.

With some notable and honourable exceptions (especially among the blue-suiters in Main Building), the MoD’s media ops machine is broken. Tailored to providing PR for the Government, and to safeguarding the interests of Government Ministers, it fails to properly look after the interests of the individual services that the MoD exists to support and it regularly leaves the Forces looking bad.

One feels sorry for the good apples, like Tim Moore, who added a heartfelt comment to Yon’s bulletin. Kudos to Nick Gurr (Director of Media and Communications MOD) for his response, too.

UK media ops people are not all REMFS and purveyors of spin, of course, but the very small minority who are, represent grit in the machine.

As a working journo I would say that MoD Media Ops people and MCOs seldom do you (as servicemen) any good, and they very frequently exasperate, alienate, aggravate, frustrate and infuriate journos, sometimes driving on-side and supportive journos into wanting to give the MoD a darned good kicking.

This cannot be helpful.

I recognize Mr Yon’s complaint about MCOs ”threatening future access if a correspondent shows “attitude”, too.

[Jabba_TG12]

Well, I'm not going to criticise Yon for what he has written. I think with him being ex-US MIL himself, OPSEC isnt going to be lost on him.

The old saying is that the first casualty of war is the truth, so we shouldnt really be surprised that this is happening.

The timing though and the er... previous history that this administration has for media manipulation is not helpful to their cause though, however righteous they may see it.

And this particular Major... wrong bloke, wrong place, wrong time.We've all seen them at some point, think they're Bertie Big B*ll*ks, but in reality are nothing short of bullies. I can understand Yon getting as frustrated and as confrontational as he did, saying that if you want me out of here that badly, then get the RMP's down to arrest me... not withstanding where they are and what is going on around them, he handled it badly.

Hardly makes him Lucifer though.

And, as Cornish said, I'd take the word of Michael Yon over 'Elicopter Bob anyday....

[Chugalug2]

Thank God for the Michael Yon's of this world. The deceit and spin that is the MOD's way of life kills. It has already killed many aircrew by the obstructing of Accident Investigations that thus failed to reveal lack of airworthiness caused by the UK Military Airworthiness Authority (the same MOD) failure to properly implement its own regulations. Thus further such avoidable accidents go unprevented. We have the world's best Armed Forces and the worst Government Department running them. As in this case much of that maladministration is occasioned directly not by civil servants nor politicians but by commissioned officers. Shame on them!

[airborne_artist]

Pigs - try Helmand Blog - Afghanistan (http://tinyurl.com/helmandbl0sp0t)

It's not Anita's fault; Pprune automatically **s out the word bl0gsp0t, for reasons I don't understand.

[Anotherpost75]

AA I am not understanding. Who are the pigs?

[elderlypart-timer]

Don't know enough about Mr Yon's work to pass comment on his qualities but from what little I've read it seems reasonable. After all informed and responsible journalism can lead to improvements.

However there are some much more well known (and probably very well paid) British hacks who should really never be given any help by MoD or the forces. Some of them fly out to Afghanistan for a few days at our expense and are protected by our soldiers. Then they come back and on the basis of nothing but their own prejudice and bigotry claim UK forces are needlessly killing civilians. We should never forget that the information war we are fighting with the Taliban is aided by these people. Still there's nothing new about all this - lots of lies have been told about UK forces over the last four decades. What might help is if those MPs who claim to support the forces would stand up in Parliament - where they can't be sued - and name both the objective hacks (perhaps including Mr Yon) and the ones who will manipulate the truth to suit their own political prejudices. As Ernie Bevin once said a lie is half way round the world before the truth has got its boots on.

Sorry, rant over